Whiffletree-hook.



No. 669,827. Patented Mai. l2, 1 9m. u. GLOCK, In.

(Application filed Dec. 19, 1900.

(No Model.)

8mm wimw 77W dmb,

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NICHOLAS GLOGK, JR, OF KENTON, OHIO.

WHlFFLETREE-HOOK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,827, dated March 12, 1901. Application filed December 19, 1900. Serial No. 40,342. (N mo em To ctlZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NICHOLAS GLooK, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Kenton, in the county of Hardin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Whiffletree Hooks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention has special reference to improvements in that class of whiflietree-hooks in which a link is employed to swing across the path of the trace, and thereby prevent the accidental displacement of the trace, an instance of which is the hook shown in my Patent No. 660,423, granted October 23, 1900.

The present improvement consists in a stop located on the side of the hook adjacent to the link and adapted to limit the movement of the book, so asto prevent it from dropping below the trace when the same is engaged in the hook.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a whiffletree-hook provided with the present inventionpand Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. j

The hook is attached to the end of the whiffletree by the usual eye A, and the hook proper, B, extends forward from the eye, as shown. Just beyond the eye, on the inner or upper side of the hook, I form the projection O, the end of the hook being brought back to a point adjacent to the said projection, so that the space between the projection and the end of the hook is just sufficient to admit the trace. Below the projection O a link E is pivoted in the body of the hook, the length of the link being greater than the distance between its pivot and the end of the hook, as shown. Slightly above the pivot of the link and between the same and the end of the hook I provide a lateral stop F, which arrests the movement of the link when it is depressed by the entrance of the trace. This stop may be a lug on the side of the 'hook or it may be provided by inserting a small rod through the body of the hook, the ends of the rod projecting beyond the sides of the body.

The operation of the device will, it is thought, be readily understood. When the trace is engaged in the hook, it is passed between the end of the hook and the projection and forces the link toward the inner surface of the hook. Should the trace make any backward movement after it has passed the end of the link, it will strike against the link and cause it to swing toward the end of the hook and across the path of the trace, thereby effectually preventing the accidental displacement or release of the trace. Carelessness on the part of the stableman might sometimes permit the trace to rest on the end of the link, and thereby invite its ready disengagement; but this condition is avoided by the provision of the stop. This stop prevents the link being thrown down flat against the inner surface of the hook, and consequently the draft on the trace pulls it beyond and below the link, so that it cannot possibly escape from the hook except when manually released.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination with a whiffletree-hook, of a link pivotally mounted in the body of the hook below the end of the same and of a length greater than the distance from its ing witnesses.

NICHOLAS GLOOK, JR. Witnesses:

W. W. DURBIN, FRANCIS DURBIN. 

